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We continue our 2016-17 season preview interview series with North Texas assistant coach Rob Evans. There are few current assistant coaches with more prior head coaching experience: 6 years at Mississippi, 8 years at Arizona State, and 3 trips to the NCAA tourney. Now he works for Mean Green head coach Tony Benford, who was recruited to play for Texas Tech by Coach Evans back in the 1980s. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Evans about being on the short end of 1 of the most famous shots in NCAA tourney history and bringing in a McDonald’s All-American transfer (we also wish him a happy belated birthday last week!).
You played basketball at Hobbs High School for legendary coach Ralph Tasker: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? I feel that he was before his time in terms of getting the most out of his players whether we were the best player on the team or the 12th-best player. He was the fairest guy in the world: we had some good players at the all-Black school and after they integrated the school system he made it known that if we were good enough then we would play for him. He taught me a lot about the integrity of the game: I remember him taking 1 of our great players out of a game after he missed me when I cut to the basket for an open layup.
You began your college career as an All-American at Lubbock Christian JC before transferring to New Mexico State, where you made a pair of NCAA tourneys and were later named to the school’s all-time basketball team: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? I was actually named to the all-time team at both schools: they are retiring my # at Lubbock later this month. The honors I have received all mean a lot to me because they come from people who know me and spent time with me on a daily basis.
In the 1970 Final 4 as an assistant to Lou Henson at your alma mater, you lost to eventual champion UCLA before a 6-PT win over St. Bonaventure in the 3rd place game: what was it like to face 3-time defending champ John Wooden with a spot in the title game on the line? It was interesting: we were in the West region so we knew that we would meet them somewhere. We played some great teams in the NCAA tourney during my playing career: we lost to Houston (with Elvin Hayes) and UCLA (with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). We played UCLA again during my 1st year as an assistant coach and lost to them: nobody was beating the Bruins during that time!
In 1992 you were hired at Ole Miss as its 1st African-American coach in a major sport: how big a deal was it at the time, and how were you able to end up with the 1st 20-win season in school history in 1997? When I went to work for Coach Henson at age 21 he told me to recruit the South: I asked him how to get there and he said “I do not care”! I worked the whole South out of a hotel in Jackson, MS. When they offered me the job the AD was my former teammate Gerald Turner (the current SMU president), who I have known since age 17. When I got there the program was the worst 1 in the country: Coach Eddie Sutton told me not to take the job but I gave it a shot. Someone said I built it from the ground up…but Nolan Richardson said I built it from underneath the ground! I started to recruit in Arkansas/Louisiana and built up the program with some really good athletes on the defensive end of the floor. My philosophy was not to worry about what we did not have but rather just try to improve what we did have. 1 of my PGs was Mike White, who is now the head coach at Florida. I later left for ASU to be closer to my family.
In the 1998 NCAA tourney Bryce Drew scored 22 PTS including 1 of the most famous shots in NCAA tourney history at the buzzer in a 1-PT win by Valparaiso: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It is probably the most devastating. I spent a lot of time on the road recruiting and we spent a lot of time having everyone from the fraternities/sororities attend our games. The 1st game in the NCAA tourney is always the toughest. We were not playing our best but had a 2-PT lead with our best FT shooter (Ansu Sesay) at the line with 5 seconds left. I took everyone off the line except for Keith Carter, who got a hand on the ball after the 2nd missed FT. I was so sad for our fans because they had been down for so long.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Texas Tech/Rutgers: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I think both of those teams will be a really big test, but Texas Tech will be a tough task because I coached there for 15 years. I talked to Bill Self and he said that the Red Raiders will be 1 of the toughest teams in the Big 12. Rutgers will be tough because of the timing with 4-5 games in a 10-day stretch.
You have a couple of transfers from major in-state programs including J-Mychal Reese (Texas A&M)/Keith Frazier (SMU): what is the key to having everyone come together and bond as a team? I always feel that you have to figure out why a kid is leaving: not enough playing time, his specific role, postseason ineligibility, etc. You have to make them understand that they have to conform to our system just like everyone else.
As an assistant to Gerald Myers at Texas Tech you recruited Tony Benford to play for the Red Raiders, where he became 1986 SWC tourney MVP: how did you convince him to sign, and how do you like being his assistant 3 decades later? Tony also played for Coach Tasker in Hobbs, NM, and we have some family connections: I told him that I was asking him to play for me…and that if he declined then I would go speak to his mother!
Tony has not finished with a record above .500 during any of his 4 years in Denton: is he on the hot seat or is just a matter of trying to keep improving from 1 year to the next? Every coach is on the hot seat: I talked to Coach Self before he won an NCAA title about how difficult it was to win 20 games in a season, and he mentioned that no coaches are out there having fun. We knew that we needed to adjust some things and change the mindset of our kids and we feel that we have the right kind of kids to do what we want to do. I feel that Tony has really matured as a coach and I have given him everything that I can give him.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our goals are always the same: it is a cliché but we are trying to win ever game, get to the NCAA tourney, and win a title. Barring injuries, we feel that we have enough talent to have a very good team.